The invention relates to a method for testing marine paints for anti-fouling ability, i. e., the ability to inhibit growth and attachment of fouling organisms.
In the past, the anti-fouling abilities of marine paints have been evaluated by painting steel plates with the marine paints to be evaluated, immersing the plates in a sea water medium containing fouling organisms, such as barnacles and algae, and observing the attachment of the fouling organisms to the painted plates. Such test procedures are time consuming and expensive, requiring a considerable number of personnel to evaluate and to grow and maintain the test organisms.